Developer Mayer Luce Companies has put its ambitious 505-acre, $1 billion Tuscan Hills development in Desert Hot Springs on hold until the valley’s sluggish housing market shows signs of rebounding.

Company President Walter Luce said the decision to put the brakes on the gated country club community, featuring a Johnny Miller-designed 18-hole golf course as its centerpiece, comes as builders throughout the valley adjust to slower home sales.

Other valley developers are making similar adjustments, with even large builders such as KB Home and Lennar Corp. slimming down local operations.

Builders marketing to entry-level and lower mid-price-range buyers have become particularly aggressive about downsizing to conserve cash, said Fred Bell, executive director of Palm Desert-based Desert chapter of the Building Industry Association.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 21st, 2007 at 9:58 pm and is filed under Real Estate. Tags: Adjustment Building Industry Association Community Country Club Desert Chapter development Fred Bell Hot Springs KB Home Lennar Corp. Palm Desert . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.